A collection of reviews of films from off the beaten path; a travel guide for those who love the cinematic world and want more than the mainstream releases.

Monday, April 2, 2018

Seven Years of Night

You
could say Jung Yoo-jung is like the Korean J.K. Rowling, except her books are
psychologically complex and intended for mature grown-ups. She was first
published at the age of forty-one, while she worked as a nurse, providing her
family’s sole support. Instead of ripping off age-old fantasy tropes, she drew
from her real-world experience. Out of four adult novels, this is the second to
be adapted for film, with a third already under development. If you thought
your parents were bad, wait till you see the impact two badly flawed fathers
have on their children in Choo Chang-min’s adaptation of Seven Years of Night, which opens this
Friday in Los Angeles.

Seo-won
has been somewhat disappointed in his father Choi Hyun-soo ever since he was
convicted of murdering a twelve-year-old girl and subsequently causing the
deaths of several local townspeople by sabotaging the dam. Of course, it is not
as simple as that. Through agonizing flashbacks, we learn the truth.
Tragically, Choi really did kill young Se-ryung when she dashed in front of his
car, fleeing her abusive father, the well-heeled Dr. Oh. Drunk and panicked,
Choi opted to cover up her death, inevitably bringing about his own downfall.

Almost
immediately thereafter, Choi is consumed by guilt. Mostly it is his subconscious
tormenting him, but there might also be mild supernatural elements at play.
Unfortunately, there is also a very real human element working against him.
Refusing to accept any responsibility, Oh looks for a scapegoat—and his
investigators quickly place Choi’s car near the scene. Years later, as Choi’s
execution approaches, he finally reaches out to the teenage son he had refused
to see, out of shame.

Although
the perpetrators and their respective degrees of culpability are always clearly
identified, Seven Years shares a real
kinship with the first season of Broadchurch.
It is suspenseful and absorbing but is it ever dark and pessimistic with respect
to human nature. Initially, the timeline shifts are a bit confusing, but Choo
manages to maintain a great deal of uncertainty and tension regarding the final
outcome.

Ryu
Seung-ryong is equally comfortable playing villains and everymen, so he is a
logical choice to do both as the brutish yet sympathetic Choi. Jang Dong-gun is
unsettling cold and vicious as Dr. Oh, the dentist from Hell. Twelve-year-old
Lee Re, best known as the star of Hope
continues to utterly devastate viewers as the desperate Oh Se-ryung. Go
Kyung-pyo somewhat underwhelms as the understandably resentful Seo-won, but
Song Sae-byeok really gives the film heart and heft as Ahn Seung-hwan, Choi’s
co-worker, who becomes Seo-won’s guardian.

Choo’s
previous film, Masquerade, was
surprisingly dark and morally ambiguous for a costume drama that could have
been elevator-pitched as Dave in the
Joseon era, but Seven Years is an
even tougher and more accomplished film. Highly recommended for fans of angsty
thrillers like Mystic River, Seven Years of Night opens this Friday
(4/6) at the LA and Buena Park CGV Cinemas, as well as the Edgewater Multiplex
in New Jersey.